Lighting systems based on light emitting diodes (LEDs) have become available for a variety of applications. In general, LEDs have longer lives than typical light bulbs, are capable of emitting different colors (e.g., red-green-blue LEDs), are smaller in physical form, operate on low voltage, are durable and allow digital addressing and networking, among other benefits. LEDs are now used in a wide variety of applications including; appliance, automotive, signage, advertising & display, architectural lighting, accent lighting, consumer product, pool & spa and other applications.
LED light strips may be used for various lighting applications, including but not limited to decorative lighting and lighting on stairs, cabinets, in niches and numerous other locations. LED light strips may be rigid (e.g., light bars) or flexible (e.g., light ropes, ribbons or flexible strips). LED light strips can be substantially weatherproof in construction, thereby making them highly desirable for outdoor applications. LED light strips are sometimes used in new construction as well as retrofit or renovation applications. Individual LED light strips may be connected to one another or networked to provide LED lighting systems (e.g., networks) of desired sizes and/or configurations. To facilitate connecting or networking of LED light strips, some LED light strips have side mount power connect terminals that eliminate gaps in LED spacing when a number of LED light stripes are connected to one another. Some LED light strips are designed to be cut to size using standard scissors.
In some applications, one or more LED light strips may be attached to a controller that is programmed to cause the LEDs to display light shows (e.g., causing individual LEDs to change color and/or change intensity and/or go on or off, at different times).
In general, the LEDs used on LED light strips are either monochromatic or multicolored (e.g., red, green, blue (RGB)). Monochromatic LED light strips are typically used for applications such as cove and niche lighting, bottle displays and banding applications and are available in colors such as white, green, aqua, blue, red, orange and amber. Multicolor LED light strips are also often used for cove and niche lighting, bottle displays and banding applications and additionally are used for color washing and other applications wherein color/shade changes or pre-programmed light shows are desired.
There remains a need for the development of new controllers for LED strip lighting.